Nielsen said during questioning at the hearing that it was "possible" Trump used the vulgar term to describe Haiti and other countries during an Oval Office meeting attended by several lawmakers, but she could not hear him using the expletive.

"It was a meeting of 12 people. There was cross-talk," Nielsen told the panel. "Anything is possible. I can't testify to what I don't know."

Booker, an African-American senator, called Trump's reported remarks "the most vile and vulgar language."